Herman Shooster Ding-a-Ling Answering Service 1976
were ready to leave, we couldn’t. The anchor was stuck. Without hesitation, Frank told Jeff to jump overboard and free the anchor. With little prodding, Jeff was in the water. Steve and I were both aghast. Years later Jeff explained, “The anchor wasn’t stuck. The rope just got sucked into the impeller. All I had to do was pull it out. I kept my eyes open for alligators. They lurk in the weeds. It was definitely their habitat. I didn’t see any. As soon as I freed the rope, I got back in the boat.” When we got back to the dock, we shot targets with rifles. The whole day was quite a treat for us. Things went well and, eventually, we nego- tiated a fair deal, but we could not come to an agreement. I was ready to give up. That’s when Dorothy suggested that we ought to leave on a friendly note. She invited the Brooks’ to our rented home for lunch. We got along so well that by the time lunch was over the deal was on again. Spending most of my career in the food
business, I’m not sure myself why I made such a big change, but I already knew how risky that business was. What I liked about the answering service is that, fundamentally, it is about repetitive revenue generated by lots of small clients. However, no business is without risk. In this case, I thought my biggest concern would be that it had only one supplier, the phone company. During those years AT&T held a monopoly over the entire telecom landscape. In considering that risk, I thought, at least they were regulated by the government. Perhaps the most important consideration I can think of is that this business was afford- able. Nevertheless, it was a big decision, so I asked my brother, Harry, for his opinion. He took a long look and gave it thumbs down. I weighed his opinion carefully and bought it anyway. I believe it is important to listen to the opinion of lots of people, but in the end, you have to make up your own mind.
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